A Race Nearly Won: The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan Review

I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

I read it when I was only eleven years old and until now I have an undying love for it. After finishing The Last Olympian, I couldn't accept it was over. I couldn't let Percy go. I actually started crying when I thought of how I will never read from Percy's mind again.

But then I found out about the Heroes of Olympus and how it's the sequel to the Percy Jackson series.

The happiness I felt was indescribable. I was so excited when I realized that I wouldn't be letting go of Percy, Annabeth, Rachel, Nico and many more of our beloved characters anytime soon since Heroes of Olympus was set to be a five-book series too. Since I was a kid then, I wasn't really concerned if it was going to be as good as the previous series. All that mattered to me was that the story wasn't finished yet. 

I was a kid when I first started reading The Heroes of Olympus but I have reread them so much over the years that I still remember most of what happened in the books. I clearly remember the important parts, the parts needed to be considered when deciding whether the book was good or not. And what do I have to say about the series? Riordan did not disappoint....mostly. To be more exact, he delivered 4/5 times.

If it's not obvious from the title, I loved the first four books but the last one however? Not so much. For this review, I will be discussing each book before I give my overall thoughts on the series.

The Lost Hero

(Photo from www.riordan.wikia.com)

The Lost Hero was a good read. A very good first book. This is the book that I least reread after my first read and I regret doing so. I have forgotten how Riordan masterfully balanced the familiar with the unknown in this book. It's obvious that this is still part of the world that was introduced in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series yet there were enough different elements that set it apart from it's predecessor. I suppose the reason that I didn't reread this as much as the others was because Percy wasn't in the book. I'll confess that my kid self was very unhappy with this fact and judged it unfairly because of it. But after a while, I began to appreciate it as it is. The three new main characters are good characters. Jason, Leo, and Piper had a very good and entertaining dynamic. It's nice to read the scenes where they just played off one another. Although they were all good in their own right, Leo Valdez had the best characterization. His personality and story was the one I bought the most, the one I leaned more towards. How about Piper McLean? I was happy with the fact that she was made distinct. She was clearly her own person. She wasn't an Annabeth 2.0. She was Piper. And now we turn to Jason Grace. I don't have the smoothest history with this character. I remember being irritated at him and to be honest, I still do sometimes but that doesn't mean it was because Riordan wrote him badly. Admittedly, he is a good character. You truly understand why he is the way he is. It's more of personal reasons why I don't love him as much as the others. Compared to his friends, he is only mildly interesting to me. I get his appeal, I do, but he needed more for me to love him. Aside from the characters, the plot was also very good. The quest to free Hera was fun and exciting. It was really entertaining. It showcased the best traits of the characters but most importantly, it introduces the new main villain for the demigods to fight excellently. And of course, the end made you itch to read the second book of the series right away. In the end, The Lost Hero is a book filled with distinct and good characters that complemented the thrilling story really well.

The Son of Neptune

(Photo from: www.fanpop.com)

The second book to the Heroes of Olympus did everything that it needed to do. In fact, it exceeded it. It had the job of introducing the Roman camp, making it feel relevant to the story and most importantly, getting the readers to invest in the Romans. It did all those three beautifully. Camp Jupiter was done very well. They were immediately established as a force to be reckoned with and introduced new characters that were distinctly Roman. You can tell the differences immediately. Riordan made the Romans just as lovable as our Greek campers (of course with the exception of a certain character whose name starts with an "O"). The plot of Son of Neptune was again about a quest. A quest to retrieve the lost eagle of the Roman camp. A quest done by none other than Percy Jackson and two new characters, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang. Like what Riordan has done in his other books, he took a simple plot and filled it with exciting and emotional moments to the brim. There was not a moment in this book where I wasn't entertained or where the story didn't make sense. Everything fit so well it's actually quite amazing. The Son of Neptune marked the return of the one and only, Percy Jackson. God, I remember feeling so relieved after seeing the first Percy chapter. Having him lose his memory created an interesting conflict for him to face while facing the bigger picture. He took on everything with the same Percy way that we have grown use to but there were some noticeable differences brought on by what he has been through and what he was going through in the book. It added more to his character if that's even possible. Hazel Levesque is, like Piper, properly written and distinct from all the rest. Her character is easy to get attached to because of her relatable thoughts and past. Although, her past was revealed slowly which added a somewhat mysterious layer to her character that made readers eager want to know more. She is simply an awesome character. Frank Zhang was awesome too. He was probably the most relatable character of this book, We have all felt his insecurities before. It didn't feel fake or forced but real and genuine. They were all just delightful; this book was delightful period. Excellent execution of a stunning plot with lovely characters telling the story? What more can you ask for?

The Mark of Athena

(Photo from: www.riordan.wikia.com)

The Mark of Athena is the book where all the seven demigods of the prophecy finally met and came together to fly to Greece to defeat Gaea and her giants. And it was simply awesome. It was heart-breaking and fantastic. It would have been easy to have this book really messy because of the many little quests at the side and the many protagonists. But somehow, Riordan managed to fit everything together flawlessly. Those little side quests all added to the main quest. It helped solve the questions of the seven little by little. These side quests were also great opportunities to have all of them shine and develop their characters more. The stakes were raised. Not only do they have to stop the rising of Gaea and her giants, but they have to save both camps from each other. The higher stakes added tension and urgency. In effect, this kept the readers on their toes. It felt like any mistake would mean the end of the world. This book also opened the mind of Annabeth Chase. Reading from her POV was an interesting experience. It created more understanding towards her character that was never really there in the earlier books. Her thoughts brought relatability that was very much needed. There were a lot more memorable scenes in this book too. Whether it were small character moments, or huge and awesome action scenes, it definitely felt bigger than anything we have read before in Riordan's books. And of course that ending. That damn cliffhanger of an ending. The despair I felt, and I'm sure all of you felt, when I read those last few pages was overwhelming. You thought you were itching to read the next book after finishing The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune? Well this was undoubtedly much worse than those two combined. Damn Riordan for his endings and damn him for making something so sad make so much sense.

The House of Hades

(Photo from: www.hypable.com)

The House of Hades is no doubt the best book of the series. You thought the other books had amazing dramatic tension, character development, and ass-kicking scenes? Well those do not even begin to compare to this book. If you have read this book, then you know that Percy and Annabeth had a separate and much harder journey than the others. Percy and Annabeth's absence made each and everyone of them step up to the plate. We, along with the members of the Argo II, didn't realize how much they needed Percy and Annabeth until they were actually gone. Things normally done by Percy or Annabeth were instead done by the remaining demigods which created powerful and strong moments. Every one of them had a chance to shine and to truly show off what they were made off. Frank is no longer the wimpy and uncertain kid we saw in The Son of Neptune. Hazel and Piper are finally confident badasses that know the worth of their powers and their worth as demigods. Jason is no longer a boring nice guy due to his character arc. All of their developments were written beautifully but the two characters that really got the most out of this book were Leo Valdez and Nico Di Angelo. Leo, the joker of the series, actually had one of the most emotional scenes in the book which created layers to his characters. Nico Di Angelo's characterization on the other hand was heart-wrenching but absolutely divine. He made so much more sense. We got to really understand him more. Nico in the previous books was distant enough that we may sometimes forget that he's just like the everyone else but now he's more grounded as a character, something he needed a lot. Now we go on to Percy and Annabeth. They were the bulk of the emotional scenes in this book. The many challenges they faced not only created tense and unnerving scenes but it also, like Leo, developed layers to their characters. (This book is just filled with character development guys. It was lovely). We got to see the limits of these two characters. In their journey, we explored something that has always been a feared enigma in this world and it was so scary and thrilling see. They had the most nerve-wracking scenes too. I could barely put the book down when we were with them. The plot, as always, was great. More complex than the others but that should be expected. This book ended at exactly where it needed to be and set up so many stuff that made waiting for Blood of Olympus unbearable. In the end, The House of Hades really shined as the best due to it's superb plot with it's heart-stopping action and most importantly because of the many emotional character developments each of them needed.

The Blood of Olympus

(Photo from: www.riordan.wikia.com)

And now we move on to The Blood of Olympus. The downfall of the series. Now to be clear, the series is still a great series but without this book it would have been phenomenal. Was the book that bad? Well no, it was okay. But that's exactly it. It's only okay. Why did the last book have to be the least good? Because of Riordan constantly stepping up his game every time he releases a book, I never really thought it would be like this. This was a fine book, yes, but only on it's own. As a final book, it was terrible. Why you ask? Because of many things. One of the main reasons are the characters. In this book, only three of the seven demigods in the prophecy were given time to shine and to finish their arc. These three demigods were Jason, Piper and Leo? Percy, Annabeth, Frank and Hazel? With the way they were treated, they were basically side characters. Hazel's whole story with her past coming to haunt her and Frank's story about being an inch away from death meant nothing here. The effects of what Percy and Annabeth went through in the last book? Nothing. The side characters of the previous books were treated like the main characters. This made the book feel separated from the other books. It was absolutely jarring. I love Reyna and Nico as much as the next guy but did we really need to spend so much time with them in the final book when it was supposed to be focused on the seven? I think it would have been better if there was a novella revolving them, especially Reyna, to do every single one of their stories justice. Another major problem was the fact that everything felt SO RUSHED. They set so many things up in the previous books that I think everyone assumed the last book would have a huge and explosive climax. But in reality, everything came and go so quickly. It didn't feel like a proper climax. From the fight scenes to the character moments, it just didn't feel big as it should have been. Everything kind of just deflated. The ending didn't feel like a proper goodbye. It felt like there should have been at least a hundred more pages or a next book coming the following year. I know there are a lot of you that loved this book to bits and so much the better for you actually. The series ended on a high note for you. But personally, there were just too many flaws, wasted characters and moments for me to love Blood of Olympus.

Overall Thoughts of the Series

One disappointing book does that mean the whole series is a disappointment. Overall it was still great. The first four books were amazing and had minimal mistakes. What just gets me is that it had so much potential! This could have been the best series Rick Riordan has ever written if he just did the final one justice. I don't know what went wrong in the writing process but I think this series suffered from too much ambition. Maybe he just set up too many things for one book to properly close so he made do with what he can. Whatever the case, this is what we have and no matter how much I wish the final book could have been so much better, what's done is done. There's no changing anything. The only advice I can offer those who still plan to read it is to lower your expectations after reading The House of Hades. All I can do now is focus on The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades and the magnificent stories they hold. In the grand scheme of things, these books overshadow The Blood of Olympus. It almost won't matter. I still thank Rick Riordan for creating these books. 4/5 is not bad. It's better than most book series I can assure you all that.

7/10 stars